An Evening in Hell, Seven Minutes in Heaven
by ForASecondThereWe'dWon
Summary: Betty doesn't run off when Archie and Veronica disappear into the closet. Cheryl spins the bottle to decide the next victim in her game. And wait, what's Jughead doing here? Rated M for something that takes a little longer than seven minutes.
1. Girl Next Door No More

I

Betty stared after Archie and Veronica, annoyed, as they walked into the closet and shut the door. She dropped her gaze to her feet, feeling confused. She hadn't sensed anything like sexual tension between her two friends and she knew Veronica wasn't to blame for the situation. It was Cheryl playing her manipulative little game with them. Archie seemed almost unaware of what was happening, just sort of going along with it, so Betty didn't think the fault lay with him either. Maybe she was the most confused by her own actions, or lack thereof.

Over the summer, in the absence of her redheaded BFF, Betty had coaxed herself into a fluffy dreamscape where she and Archie ended up together. The perfect couple. In the light of day, this illusion she'd invented fell pretty flat. Did she, a young journalistic hopeful, really want to tie herself to a guy who couldn't even stand up to the threat of being pawed by any of a random selection of simpering gossips in a forgotten cubbyhole of the Blossom family mansion?

When it came down to it, Betty Cooper was a woman who could take matters into her own hands, which was how she knew that if she'd really wanted Archie, she would have made her intentions known and, to hell with the rest of them, pulled him into the closet with her. The fact that she hadn't made her question whether the girl next door was really a cliché she really wanted to be living.

Cheryl's phonily sweet voice yanked Betty out of her realizations.

"Ok, who's next?" Cheryl looked around brightly for her next victim. _God_ , Betty thought, _she's so much like that spider broach she's always wearing. Preying on anyone who gets too close_.

"Hey, you. Teenage nightmare." Betty followed Cheryl's gaze and realized she was addressing Jughead. Standing with his back to them and looking out the window, he was almost camouflaged in the dark room. "Who invited you?"

Jughead turned slowly and stepped towards them with an eyebrow raised. "Me? I'm here for the art and artifacts tour. Where do you keep the suits of armour?"

Cheryl narrowed her eyes at him, the gloss on her sneering mouth shining in the firelight. "I'd rather keep an eye on you than have you wandering around my family's home, if you don't mind." She crossed her arms and drummed her crimson nails on them. "Why don't you join our little game?" Now Cheryl smirked nastily and it was obvious to Betty that the invitation had only been extended as a means to scare Jughead off the premises.

Jughead stepped up to the back of the couch whereon perched a trio of Cheryl's disciples and shrugged noncommittally. Cheryl huffed at his persistence but refused to give up any ground and strode to the table, giving the bottle a vicious flick.

Betty couldn't have said what made her do it. As the bottle slowed, Betty crossed her legs, pressing the toes of her upper foot into the underside of the table, creating the tiniest slant. She looked away from the bottle, trying to appear disinterested, but when her eyes locked with Jughead's and he drew his eyebrows together in suspicion, Betty knew he had seen what she'd done.

Before she could make sense of her actions or what she was going to do about them, Betty registered the silence. The bottle had stopped turning and it was pointing right at her. No question this time, since no one had filled Veronica's spot on the couch after she had vacated it.

Cheryl was grinning. "Well, looks like you two sad sacks might as well just run on home now." She turned to Betty. "Don't you have some pining to do over the man of your dreams you just lost to the new girl?"

 _What a bitch_ , Betty thought, but she lowered the table carefully with her foot then stood, smiling right back at Cheryl. "Actually, I think I'll play." She glanced across at Jughead, who was now looking like he wanted to see how this would play out. When she reached him, he turned and fell into step with her. As they were about to leave the room, Betty turned back to see Cheryl watching her with a sour look on her face. " _Great_ party by the way, Cheryl. Do we just pick any closet?" Betty fluttered her fingers at her in a condescending wave and turned the corner.


	2. Hallway to Heaven

II

Out of earshot of their peers, Jughead burst into laughter. "Somehow, I don't think this evening's going how Cheryl wanted it to."

Betty smiled and shook her head. "She's such a dictator. She thinks she can just move us all around like dolls in a dollhouse."

"More like valley of the dollhouse."

They had left the large front rooms designed for entertaining and were now wandering down a hallway.

"Speaking of moving things around, nice trick with the table, Betts. What was that meant to achieve exactly?" Jughead tipped his head to the side.

Betty looked away and had the wherewithal to compose a quick bluff. "It got us out of there, didn't it?"

Jughead was looking straight ahead, but Betty saw his lips edge up into a smile. "It did, and I'm not complaining, but I think you're too much like me not to have something more going on in your head than what you're willing to express."

Betty felt her heart pounding and she almost tripped over the elaborate carpet striping the length of the hall.

"I guess we should find a closet soon. We don't want to go too far in case they come looking for us."

Jughead stopped walking and turned to her, so Betty halted as well. "You mean we're actually playing?" He didn't look upset, just confused.

Betty shrugged. "If we just keep wandering around in here, Cheryl's definitely going think we're trying to rob her."

Jughead grinned. "So this isn't a heist? Damn. I had the sack of sand we were going to replace the golden idol with all measured out."

Betty smiled nervously and slumped back against a closed door leading off the hall.

"Seriously, Betts." Jughead took a step towards her and lowered his voice. "What's up? I don't want to think that you're using me to make Archie jealous, but I gotta question your motives. I assume watching Archie go off with Veronica hurt you. Am I right?"

"Actually," Betty felt behind her for the door knob. Jughead followed her actions and raised an eyebrow at her. "If anything, it resolved something for me. I don't really feel that way about Archie."

Jughead looked surprised. "You don't?"

"I thought I did, but—" Betty started to turn the knob and Jughead stepped towards her quickly and covered her hand with his.

"I'm following your lead on the closet thing, but please, Betty, do not go into one of the rooms in this house backwards. I wouldn't put it past the Blossoms to have a vampire stowed somewhere. This place is way more Castle Dracula than Villa Villekulla." Jughead closed his eyes and thumped his forehead against the door. "You scared the bejesus out of me."

"Me? God, the way you reacted I thought there _was_ a vampire coming out of there." Betty smiled and looked up at him. With his head against the door, Jughead was positioned in a sheltering posture, and he hadn't taken his hand off of hers.

"So what were you going to say?" Jughead opened his eyes and looked down at her, apparently totally comfortable with being inside Betty's personal bubble and having her in his.

Betty's heart was racing and her eyes were taking in every perfect, symmetrical feature of Jughead's face as well as the perfectly asymmetrical way his black hair twisted out from under his hat.

"About what?" she breathed. _Man, when did Juggy get so… tall? And grown up? And… hot?_

"About what you're actually feeling if you're not into Archie." He looked at her expectantly. "What, did you get a new neighbour who's even more of a Renaissance man than Archie is?"

Betty looked down and Jughead suddenly felt awful. He hadn't meant for his joke to come off so nosy. Just when he was about to start apologizing, she spoke.

"No, I'm looking a little farther afield these days." She was smiling now and Jughead relaxed.

"So where's the new guy live?" he teased.

Betty turned her earnest round eyes on him. "I'm not sure actually, Juggy. What _is_ your address?"

Jughead jerked his head back from the door and felt his face go slack in shock. His hand dropped from hers, but before he could step back, Betty gripped the front of his jacket with both hands and tugged him towards her, raised herself up on her toes, and brought her mouth to his.


	3. Touch, But Don't Look

III

When Betty pulled back, Jughead's normally serious face was far from composed. Belatedly, he brought his hands to her waist, feeling out the curve between her hips and her ribcage.

"What do you say we take this behind closed doors?"

Betty rolled her eyes. "I'd say it was my idea in the first place."

"Well, who can remember, really?"

Betty narrowed her eyes at him, but Jughead just winked.

"Might as well try this one then." He nodded at the door behind her and Betty turned in his arms. She put her hand on the door knob and looked back over her shoulder at him. Jughead nodded and Betty opened the door.

It looked like a miscellaneous storage closet with clothing hanging to one side of them and boxes stacked up on the other.

"Well I don't see any vampires in here," Betty said, stepping inside.

Jughead followed her in. "That's cause it's nighttime. They're out hunting," he hissed.

"Ah, that explains it. Do you see a light switch?"

"Come on, Nancy Drew. Didn't you think to bring a flashlight on this little adventure?"

"If I'd known I'd be spending part of my evening in a windowless closet, I might have worn a dress with pockets so I _could_ bring one." Betty felt a string slide across her shoulder and grabbed it, clicking on a lightbulb on the ceiling above them. Jughead stepped back and pulled the door shut.

Betty turned to face him, nervous now that they were alone in a confined space. "So…it's not so creepy in here really."

"I don't know about that. Those are probably the clothes the ancestral Blossoms died in." He nodded at the garments lining one wall.

Betty shuddered. "Thanks, Juggy. I feel way better now."

Jughead stepped towards her. "Sorry, Betts. I've been spending so much time writing lately, I feel like my observation skills have become too finely tuned. And there's plenty of weird stuff to observe in here." He tipped his head back, taking in the boxes that piled high above them.

Betty raised a trembling hand to cup Jughead's jaw as she turned his face to hers. "Then try just looking at me." After she said it, Betty almost lost her nerve, but she made herself hold his gaze.

"Betts," Jughead ran a hand down her bare arm and Betty shivered again. "The reason I'm seeing all this other stuff is _because_ I'm trying so hard not to look at you. If I let myself stare, I'm not going to be able to stop."

"Juggy, you _are_ staring."

"Oh." Jughead inclined his face to Betty's. "Then you better stop me."

Betty's gaze dropped to Jughead's mouth and she stroked her thumb gently across his chin before kissing him. She was unsure about instigating the kiss for the second time. She knew that Jughead could be reactive by nature, letting things play out before him and carefully weighing whether or not he should take a role in them. As Betty kissed him, he kissed back, but his response was careful, almost to the point of hesitancy, and it began to make Betty uncomfortable. She stepped away from him, feeling his loosely linked arms fall from behind her back.

Instead of looking into his eyes, Betty's gaze locked on his chest. "We can go back now if you want."

"What makes you think I want that?" Jughead was looking down at Betty's curled blonde hair, given its freedom from her usual slick ponytail for the evening.

Betty shrugged. "You don't seem very…into it."

Jughead laughed in disbelief. "Betty, I'm a teenage boy shut in a closet with a gorgeous, intelligent girl who just told me she's not head over heels for my best friend after all. Trust me, I'm into it."

Betty frowned and looked up into his eyes. Jughead was surprised to see that she was angry. "I don't know where you get your sense of affection then, but you seem about as limp as the clothes hanging on that rack."

"I assure you, I am not," Jughead paused to clear his throat, "limp." He could feel his heart beat twice, once in his chest and a second time as his boiling blood inflated his dick. "What do you want, Betts?"

Betty took a deep breath. "You told me about everything you see. I don't want you to see." She put her hands on his chest. "I want you to feel."

Very slowly, Betty slid her hands up Jughead's chest to his shoulders, feeling the waves of muscle under his clothes.

"You mean that metaphorically though, right? You're not going to actually turn the light off?"

Betty smiled and shook her head. "Shhhh." She tucked her hands in under his jacket and pushed it from his shoulders. Jughead held his arms loosely and Betty dropped the jacket straight off and heard it thump on the floor. They both stared down at it for a second then at each other. It finally sank in for Jughead that this was not an opportunity he was likely to get again.

Jughead pushed his fingers through Betty's delicately curled hair and held her face to his as he kissed her long and deeply. He felt Betty's puff of exhalation on his cheek. Her arms came around his neck, one hand going up to trace his hairline and the other dipping down under the neck of his t-shirt. Jughead felt the hair stand up along the back of his neck and dropped one hand to pull Betty against him.

When she felt the ridge pushing against her from the front of Jughead's jeans, Betty let out a reflexive moan that shocked them both.

Jughead broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers and panting.

"Juggy? Do… do you want…?" Betty was breathing hard too. She shifted her hands nervously from Jughead's shoulders to his chest, then settled them on his waist and gripped the fabric of his shirt desperately, dampening it with her sweating palms.

Jughead was nodding so furiously, his hat was pushed off as his forehead rubbed against Betty's.

"Do you?"

Betty's voice was soft but strong. "Yes."

Jughead held her eyes as he wrapped a hand around her hip and started drawing the material of her skirt up with reaching fingers. He threw his other arm around her back, grabbing the bunched fabric and leaving his free hand to stroke the skin of her outer thigh. Betty exhaled loudly and leaned in to Jughead, working her way up his neck with loose kisses. When she suddenly pressed her palm against his erection, Jughead dug his fingers into her skin and swore.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Jughead didn't open his eyes, but he felt Betty nod against him, her cheek stroking his.

"Looks that way," she whispered near his ear.

Suddenly, he was impatient to have her. Jughead flattened the bunch of material against Betty's back and reached under her skirt with his other hand, going directly to shape his hand to fit between her legs. Betty gasped, but Jughead kept going. Her thighs were hot on either side of his hand and when he slipped his fingers under the elastic, he felt her arousal immediately slick them.

Using both hands now, he fumbled for the waistband of her panties, pushing them down her legs. Betty quickly stepped out of her heels and shook her legs to rid herself of her underwear. Jughead maneuvered his hand back under her skirt, rubbing her wetness across his fingers before pressing one up into her channel.

Betty brought her hands to Jughead's shoulders, squeezing them to keep herself upright when his thumb found her clit and he began steadily rocking his hand to push down on her g-spot with his middle finger and up on her clit with his thumb. Betty began shoving her hips against his hand in time with his rocking, so much that Jughead had to recognize defeat or risk her falling over.

He extracted his fingers carefully and before Betty could start to whine, turned her away from him, keeping a hand on her waist. She looked over her shoulder at him in confusion, but Jughead's fingers were already on her zipper, opening the back of her pink dress and letting it poof to the floor.

She turned back to him and he grinned as he backed her into the stack of boxes. Needing no assistance, Betty reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, flinging it onto the floor on top of her dress. Jughead pulled in a shaky breath as he took in the entirely of Betty's body, softly lit by the bulb high above them. Rather than display embarrassment, Betty put one hand on her hip and with the other made a sweeping gesture over Jughead's body, clearly indicating it was his turn.

Jughead's smile grew and he yanked his t-shirt off over his head. Betty's eyes widened as she studied his muscled physique.

"Impressed?" he teased. Inwardly, Jughead was feeling fairly nervous.

Betty titled her head to one side, running her eyes over his body. Jughead felt himself blush. "It makes sense actually. For all the time you spend at Pop's, I almost never see you actually eating the junk food."

"Clearly, I was resisting that minor temptation until a bigger one came along that would make my inner strength worth it." Jughead was unfastening the button on his jeans and unzipping them, enjoying the relief of pressure from next body part he was hoping to impress her with.

As Jughead's hands moved to his hips, Betty reached out and traced her fingers lightly across his abs. "Yes, it's really your _inner_ strength that's wowing me right now." She met his eyes and Jughead was floored by the seductive look she leveled at him. Without further ado, he pushed his jeans and boxers off his hips, letting gravity take them to the ground. He stepped out and kicked them backwards carelessly.

He stood, naked, and waited for her to come to him.

She did, immediately.

Jughead pushed his fingers into her hair and pulled her against him, kissing her deeply. Now Betty was impatient, finding his hand and pulling him down with her to the carpeted floor. She sat with her legs to one side, allowing Jughead to run his hands over her bare back and hold her against him, skin to skin, as he kissed her.

His blood was pounding in his dick and he couldn't wait any longer, so Jughead laid Betty down on his jacket and kneeled in front of her. He slid his hands from her bent knees down to her hips, up her stomach and over her breasts. Betty looked up at him and was grateful for his compulsion to observe. Never in her life had she felt so powerfully treasured.

He held himself over her in a one-handed plank, reaching between their bodies, which were shivering with anticipation, and aligning himself with her. Jughead pushed into her slowly and Betty tipped her hips up in response, inviting him in. He slid in so smoothly that his stroke was faster than he'd meant it to be and he bumped the end of her channel. Betty jerked in surprise, feeling Jughead's length press into her and his width throb against her tensing muscles. She trembled and the vibration went straight to her core, causing Jughead to pull out only slightly and press back in as firmly as he could.

He gasped and Betty looked up into his face. Jughead's eyes were clamped shut and his black hair hung down. She raised her hand and twined one of his ringlets around her finger, smiling at him. He opened his eyes and Betty wrapped her legs around him, holding his body tight to hers.

When he drew out, his body dragged over her clit and Betty grabbed at his shoulder blades, pulling him back to her. Abandoning any attempt at discipline, Jughead began pistoning into her. For her part, Betty pushed herself up against him, ensuring he continued to stroke her clit with each thrust.

Jughead wound an arm under Betty's back to take hold of her as he went to work. She was crying out on every thrust now and he grinned wildly as he watched her chin tip up, her mouth drop open, and her shining hair splay across the carpet.

He brought a hand to her breast, groping and rubbing as much for his benefit as for hers. When he began gently twisting her nipple between his fingers, Jughead felt Betty's body kick into another gear. She was trembling against him now, her hands fluttering across his back. He lowered his mouth and took her nipple between his teeth, sucking hard.

"Juggy!" she yelped. Her knees tightened against his hips, almost impeding his thrusts, but he drove at her forcefully, giving her what she wanted.

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his chest flush to hers with a strength he hadn't known she was capable of. He immediately appreciated it though, because when she came, her face was right next to his and he heard her pant his name twice before letting out an uninhibited cry. Jughead followed her, groaning with a total lack of restraint, and ramming himself deep inside her as he lost himself.


	4. The Screen Crack'd from Side to Side

IV

They fixed themselves up to the best of their abilities—Betty's hair was a little wonky from its tango with the floor and under Jughead's jacket, his shirt was on backwards—and Betty nodded to Jughead to click off the light as she turned the door knob.

The door swung open and there stood Cheryl and her underlings, trying to cover up the scandalized looks on their faces.

Jughead went for casual, leaning against the doorjamb of the closet they'd just exited, but bold, blonde, ballsy Betty stood proud and smiled at Cheryl with confidence.

"I can't believe you…in my closet…in my family's home!" Cheryl spluttered.

"Can't believe I what?" Betty asked.

Cheryl's eyes narrowed. "Oh, we all know what. We're not deaf."

Betty shrugged and looked at Jughead who also shrugged and pushed himself away from the wall. As the couple walked past Cheryl, she screeched at them. "Don't think this won't be all over social media!"

Betty turned to her, her friendly façade dropped, and gave Cheryl an icy look. Jughead's arm came around Betty's waist, showing a united front. Betty snatched the phone out of Cheryl's hand.

"We _are_ the media." Betty hurled the phone at the wall and they heard the screen crack like broken bone. She looked at Jughead, who was grinning at her proudly.

"Forget the River Vixens. I think you should try out for baseball."

Betty smiled at him and they headed for the front door of the Blossom mansion, hand in hand.


End file.
